


We Are Gaining Speed

by Chash



Series: Better Ways to Be Alive [8]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 07:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20188798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: It feels like the witch stuff should be all Madi has going on, like that should be the whole focus of her life. But she's got another week of school to get through before their first meeting with Dante Wallace, and the rest of her life isn't stopping just because she's got other stuff going on.If anything, everything feels like it's getting more complicated.





	We Are Gaining Speed

Jordan doesn't know.

Or, well, he didn't _before_. Madi thinks he wouldn't have talked about Clarke and Bellamy like he did when she first moved if he'd known that magic was in his family too.

He wouldn't, right? He would have tried to hide it. Or maybe he was feeling her out, trying to find out if they really _were_ magic, and if she'd said yes, he would have said he was too. Maybe it was all some weird game of supernatural chicken.

It's a question that will stop being a question pretty soon; Bellamy and Clarke are going to talk to Monty this afternoon, and if nothing else, they'll know more than they know now. Just like, in a couple days, she and Clarke will go to Mr. Wallace's class and know more than they know now about who he is and what he's planning to teach. Soon, she'll have enough information to figure out how she's feeling.

Until then, it's giving her a headache.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jordan asks.

"No. Sorry, what?"

He frowns. "Seriously, are you okay? You've been so spacey lately. Is everything okay with Clarke and Bellamy? The pregnancy?"

His concern is so raw and earnest that Madi can't bring herself to bristle. It feels like _everyone_ is convinced she needs to have some sort of breakdown about the upcoming baby, which is exhausting, but Jordan just wants to help. And he's not wrong about her distraction, just the source.

And he's not even totally wrong about the source. It does feel weird, being at odds with Clarke and Bellamy, especially when she doesn't even get _why_ she's at odds with them. It's not like she's championing Dante Wallace as the greatest guy ever, she doesn't trust him either. But it seems stupid to be as distrustful as Bellamy and Clarke are; that's just showing their hands.

Not that they seem to be distrusting Mr. Wallace to his face, but Madi doesn't get it either way. He's been nice and accommodating and she doesn't know anything he could do to make them believe him more. It feels like they're forcing her into being on his side with their suspicion, and she hates it.

"It's been kind of a stressful week," she tells Jordan. It's mostly true, and total honesty can probably come later.

Gaia bumps her shoulder against Madi's and a wave of guilt hits with it, like she doesn't have enough else going on. Gaia doesn't have powers, as far as any of them know, and if Madi and Jordan do, it's going to be so awkward.

"If you're this stressed out already, the rest of the year is going to suck."

"It's just--Clarke and Bellamy are being weird," she settles on. "I think the pregnancy nerves are getting to them, so they're getting to me. Or maybe it's just a rough week. But it feels kind of like we're fighting, even though we're not? And that's weird."

"Not to be a jerk, but I think you were kind of due," says Jordan. "Like, you guys get along way too well? It's weird. I'm glad you're having issues."

"Wow, thanks."

"Nothing but the friendliest support," says Gaia. "It's nothing serious, right? Do we need to be worried?"

"No, nothing serious. I'm just feeling kind of off, I guess. It'll be better soon."

"Seasons changing," Jordan says, like he's a wise sage and not a dumbass kid like the rest of them. "And you're getting older. Fifteen! That's a big one."

"Is it?" asks Gaia.

"It's a multiple of five."

"I think sixteen is the big one," Gaia muses. "Then she can drive. Fifteen, whatever. No on gets anything at fifteen."

Jordan is going to get powers, but he might not know that. And maybe Mr. Wallace is wrong, too. Maybe Clarke misinterpreted, or the powers skip a generation, or it was just a total lie, a test of some kind.

It feels like she's so full of uncertainty these days that there's no room for anything else.

"That's the nice thing about my birthday coming so close to the start of the year," she says, pasting on a smile. "It feels like I kind of already leveled up. The birthday isn't as big a deal."

"Are you having a party?" asks Gaia. "What are we doing?"

"I don't have anything planned yet. I've still got a few weeks to figure it out. Probably just a movie night with cake."

Jordan clears his throat. "Okay, well, I'm not saying this has to be about your birthday, buuuut--"

Gaia's eyes narrow. "But what?"

"I think we should consider expanding our group."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning I want to be friends with Delilah Workman."

Gaia smirks. "You have a crush!"

"Keep your voice down." He makes a face. "It's not a crush. It's a pre-crush. It's pending further information. But I like her and she seems cool and I think she's having trouble figuring out where she fits in, so we could be nice to her. And, yes, maybe I have a crush on her. What's wrong with that? If you had a crush on someone, I'd say we should spend more time with them too. That's what friends are for, right?"

Gaia rolls her eyes, but she's smiling, seems amused. No heartbreak, no sign that she's been nursing private, secret hopes about herself and Jordan living happily ever after. And when Madi turns the examination on herself, she doesn't find any disappointment. It's cute, if Jordan likes someone, and a weird kind of relief. He's not interested in her, and she can stop having him bookmarked as a possibility somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind.

"I haven't really talked to her much but she seems cool," she offers. "What were you thinking we were going to do here?"

"Invite her to eat lunch with us?" Gaia suggests.

"We could go to the movies not for my birthday."

"And then me and Madi don't show up--"

The blood drains from Jordan's face. "No! Definitely not. I'm not tricking her. I'm being friendly. Nothing is happening."

"So ask her to eat lunch with us," says Madi. "And we can go from there. That's a really low-pressure thing to, and if she says no you know she's not interested."

"Well, now I'm terrified. Thanks."

"I thought you didn't have a crush on her," Gaia teases.

"I still want the option to have a crush on her. And have that crush be reciprocated, maybe. Someday."

"Every journey begins with a first step," says Gaia, tone dripping with mock sincerity. "Yours is asking a girl to sit with you at lunch."

"You already sit with two girls," Madi adds. "So it's not really a stretch."

"Right." He exhales. "We're in algebra together before lunch tomorrow, so it's not even hard. I can do this."

Madi nods. "You can. It's definitely not hard."

"Wait til you get a pre-crush, you'll see."

The bell rings, ending this lunch period, and they all gather their things. Madi and Gaia are in the same gym class while Jordan has art, so they part ways at the doors, and Madi waits until they're free of the crowd before she asks, "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Just, you know. Jordan. Liking someone else."

The look on her face is one of those looks it's impossible to fake, it's so immediate and incredulous. If she was drinking something, she would have done a spit-take. "You think I like _Jordan_?"

"I thought you might! I just wanted to make sure!"

"Do _you_ like him?"

"No. But I guess I thought about it, you know? Like, maybe I should be. I thought you might have thought that too."

Gaia's confusion melts into amusement. "Oh, yeah, I guess." She wets her lips, glances around, bites the corner of her mouth. "I think, um--honestly, I'd be more likely to be upset about Delilah."

It takes her a second to line the words up, to understand the confession that Gaia is making. It's not perfect, doesn't work exactly right, but Gaia's voice is deliberate, her eyes nervous. "She is really pretty. If she's not into Jordan, you could see if he minds you taking a shot."

"I think that violates whatever the gender-neutral, non-slut-shamey version of bros before hoes is."

"Pals before gals?"

"Not gender neutral, but better." She smiles a little, and Madi smiles back.

"Does he know? Jordan."

"I think he kind of--thinks it. But I haven't told him. You're the first person I've told."

"Thanks. I'll update my guesses about your crushes accordingly."

"Or you could just assume I'll tell you about crushes."

"That sounds like less fun."

She laughs. "Thanks for being cool. Don't tell Jordan? I'll tell him soon. Like, this weekend at the latest. But I want to tell him. And don't tell anyone else, obviously."

"I'll probably tell Clarke and Bellamy. They won't tell anyone else." She worries her lip. "Your mom?"

"I haven't told her yet, but I'm not worried. I just--I feel like I need to be more sure."

"Clarke says that's bullshit."

She raises her eyebrows. "Are you channeling her?"

"No, we've had this conversation. About bisexuality. Because, like, I might be? I don't know. And I don't want to be, like, _wrong_ about it. But Clarke says you don't have to be sure, and if you change your label, it's not a big deal. It's just whatever makes you feel most comfortable."

"Thanks, Clarke," she teases. "And thank you."

Madi beams. "Any time."

*

"Monty's jealous that our powers are cooler than his," Bellamy says, before Madi's even said hi. One of the cats definitely told him she was here.

"What are his powers?"

"Plants thrive. He gets a lot of good homegrown produce, which makes me kind of jealous, but it's not as flashy."

"And everyone wants to be able to talk to animals."

"Or have a weird magical friend that does whatever you tell it to."

"Or that. Does Jordan know?"

"No. I guess Monty doesn't have a lot of prep work to do with him, and he wants to make sure the powers get passed on first."

Madi sits down in the chair next to Bellamy's workbench, watching the wood take shape under his hands. "Does he know Dante Wallace?"

"Also no. He thinks Dante probably knew his dad, but he passed away a few years ago, so he can't check. Nothing suspicious, no red flags," he adds, with a small smile.

"But you don't feel better?"

He sighs. "You know how sometimes, you talk to someone and you get a vibe like they're treating you differently because you're a girl?"

"Yeah."

"I get that vibe too sometimes. I don't know if it's because I'm biracial or he thinks I don't have magic or what, but--" He shrugs. "I felt like he was weird with me. And Clarke felt like he was weird with her too. I don't think he was lying, but it still felt like he wasn't telling us the truth."

"I guess maybe I don't expect him to," Madi admits. Adults never tell kids the truth. "We're not telling him about us either."

"How do we keep arguing about this when we're all on the same side?"

That makes her smile. "I think we're all just stressed about it and we can't do anything. So instead we're running around in circles."

"Thanks, I hate it. That's what we're saying now, right?"

"You're saying it, so sure." She bites the corner of her mouth. "So, Jordan turns fifteen, I can tell him about me?"

"Assuming he gets powers."

"I think I'd want to tell Gaia too."

"Yeah?"

"It feels unfair not to? She's our friend, I don't want us to have a secret."

"Makes sense. It's your call."

"It is?"

"Maybe check with Clarke too." He finishes what he's doing and turns to offer her a smile. "Look, they're your friends, and it's your life. You don't need our permission, but--"

"But it's about you too."

"Everyone already thinks I'm magic."

"Seriously."

"Seriously? I get it. But I'd be careful too. Especially if--" He makes a face. "You're going to meet some more witches. It might be tough for Gaia if she's the only one with no powers. And it might be worse to know that than not."

"I would always rather know."

"Me too. But we're not everyone."

"And--she told me she thinks she likes girls. And she's going to tell Jordan. So then if I make a couple new friends, and a few months later Jordan starts hanging out with us, and she thinks we're excluding her--"

Bellamy kisses the top of her head. "You're a good kid," he says. "And I trust your judgement."

"I'm going to get a tattoo."

"You already have a tattoo. You want more? What were you thinking? Clarke can do the design for you."

She laughs. "You're such a great dad."

"Thanks, I try."

*

It's unfair that Madi has, less than two weeks after the first day of school, _another_, more stressful first day of school. One with a much smaller class, a teacher she doesn't entirely trust, and her legal guardian hanging out. It's like the world looked directly into one of her anxiety dreams, except that she's not naked too.

"Ethan and Charlotte, right?" she asks Clarke.

"Yep. Fifteen and thirteen, so--good ages. Don't be nervous."

"Wow, great advice. Suddenly I'm not nervous anymore."

"I'm a miracle worker." She smiles. "Seriously, they'll like you."

"Based on what?"

"Everyone loves the smartest kid in class." 

Before Madi can protest, the elevator arrives with a ding, and Clarke steps inside and pushes the button for the third floor. Madi still doesn't understand exactly how Mr. Wallace got this space, but she doesn't really need to know. He's a rich older white guy; he can get what he wants.

"Seriously," says Clarke, low. "Don't worry about the other kids. You'll be fine."

There's no one else there when they arrive, which doesn't help Madi's nerves and is probably actively torture for Clarke's. But Mr. Wallace is all smiles, delighted to see them. Madi _does_ get where Bellamy and Clarke are coming from; she wonders what it would take to make Mr. Wallace's good cheer break too. But she doesn't mind not having found out yet.

"A pleasure to see you both again, I'm glad you decided to come. Your husband didn't want to join us?"

"Not today, but maybe next time. He's eager for a report."

Mr. Wallace's smile seems a little strained, but maybe Madi is just on high alert, ready for any sign Mr. Wallace doesn't like Bellamy. He could be one of those Harry-Potter style wizard bigots. Or just a regular racist. He could be _both_.

People suck.

There's a knock on the door before they have to make much small talk, which is probably for the best. Clarke can fake being a functioning social human for a little while, but it's not her forte, and Madi's not great at talking to adults. Having another kid around to pull focus will be good.

She's not nervous at all.

"Would you get the door, Madi?" Mr. Wallace asks. "See who it is."

The girl at the door can't be that much younger than Madi--thirteen, assuming she's Charlotte--but you couldn't tell by looking at her. She looks all of ten, small and shy, with dark bags under her eyes. Madi can feel the magic on her, this strange tangle of untrained energy, like she's a wayward kitten wrapped up in a mess of lavender yarn. If Madi could sense people like this, find them, she'd probably want to do it too. Her magic is itching to sort the kid out.

"Sorry," Charlotte says, too fast. "I must be in the wrong--"

"You're in the right place," Madi says. "Hi, I'm Madi. This is my guardian, Clarke, and you know Mr. Wallace."

"I'm glad you made it, Charlotte," Mr. Wallace adds. "Please, come in."

But she lingers in the hall. "How many people are coming?" she asks, eyes darting between Clarke and Mr. Wallace like she can't deal with more than one adult in any given room.

"Just one more, I think. I was kind of a surprise," Madi adds. "Clarke's got the gift too, she's been teaching me. Mr. Wallace said we could come and see what he knows that we don't."

Charlotte's curiosity surges, and Madi can sense it in her magic, a strange, new sensation. This is what raw magic is like when it's still attached to a person. It's kind of cool. "She's teaching you?"

"Yeah. For about three years. We get our powers when we turn twelve in our family. Do you know when you got yours?"

"Thirteen," she says. "In June."

She nods. "I'm going to be fifteen at the end of the month. You're at Arcadia Regional?"

"Yeah."

"Cool, me too. Eighth grade?"

"Uh huh."

They're still in the open door, so when the elevator opens again, they both jump, turn to see the boy coming out of the elevator. To Madi's surprise, she recognizes him, although they've never talked, and she thought his name was something else. Aiden, maybe? He's in her gym class, but he's a grade above her, and they picked different electives. Whatever sport he's doing, he's not playing badminton with her and Gaia.

Madi waves her hand in greeting and his eyes narrow, wary. If he gave his name as Ethan, he probably doesn't trust Mr. Wallace either, so he's probably not thrilled that she's here to blow his cover. 

Still, he waves back.

"Hey. Ethan, right? That's what Mr. Wallace said."

His expression clears, and he offers a smile like they're on the same team. "Yeah, I'm Ethan."

"I'm Madi. This is Charlotte."

"Nice to meet you." His magic is less chaotic than Charlotte's, more tightly coiled around him. It feels like this magic might snap at her. "Is this everyone?"

"Madi's mom is in there," Charlotte supplies.

"Not my mom. Second cousin once removed? Something like that. But she's my legal guardian."

She frowns. "What happened to your parents?"

"They passed away," says Madi. "When I was a kid." She turns her attention to Ethan, flicks her eyes over him the way she's seen Clarke do, like she only needs a second to study him, know everything about him, and dismiss him. "How long have you had magic?"

"Mr. Wallace thought it had been two years. Since I turned thirteen. But that's just a guess."

"I got mine when I turned thirteen, too," Charlotte offers.

Ethan and/or Aiden looks like he might want to say more, but he glances past Madi into the mostly empty room, eyes fixing on first Mr. Wallace and then Clarke. This isn't something they're going to talk about in front of adults, but she does know where to find him. "Well, cool. What about you?"

"Twelve. Is there a reason we're not going inside?"

He smirks. "You're blocking the door."

Mr. Wallace smiles as the three of them file into the room. It's not really set up for classes, more for meetings, with a large table in the middle of the room and a white board on one wall. It feels like they should be talking about quarterly earnings and projections, but once they're seated, Mr. Wallace jumps right in, "So, magic. I'm afraid your gifts may not be as glamorous as you were hoping, but, as I'm sure you've noticed, they are still powerful, and they can cause plenty of chaos."

His broad explanation is about what Madi expected, so she only half listens, focusing on Charlotte and Ethan instead. They're both wary in their own ways, so at least Madi and Clarke don't stand out. Charlotte's parents are gone too, and the aunt she lives with never really wanted a kid and isn't thrilled to have her. It's a familiar story to Madi, one that makes her stomach twist; Charlotte doesn't think the arrangements will last, and Madi can't help thinking the same thing.

Ethan mostly just _doesn't_ talk about himself. He says he lives with both his parents and likes sports, that his magic can be annoying but he's got it under control. 

"If you're doing so well with it, why did you come?" Mr. Wallace asks, all gentle and concerned, and Madi and Ethan make eye contact, the automatic and simultaneous need to share an unspoken, _who does this guy think he's fooling?_

"Because I want to know more. But it's not ruining my life or anything. I've had it for a couple years and I'm doing fine. That's all I'm saying."

"Fair enough. Individual experiences with the gift with vary." Mr. Wallace turns his attention to Madi. "You can feel the difference in Charlotte and Ethan's gifts, can't you? Can you describe it?"

Madi wets her lips; she has the comparisons, but she feels a little silly saying it out loud. "Charlotte's isn't as controlled. Neither of them is bound, like yours and mine and Clarke's, but Charlotte's is kind of--all over. Messy. Ethan's is sticking closer to him. Like one of them is coloring in the lines and the other isn't."

"Exactly," says Mr. Wallace. "The gift is something like a living thing, and different gifts will have different personalities. From what I've seen, Ethan's magic wants to keep him safe. Chaos follows him around, but he's largely protected. Charlotte's magic is scattered, unsure. Part of that is that it's newer, and it doesn't know what to do yet. It's still settling into itself."

"What does hers look like?" Ethan asks, jerking his head to Madi.

"Hers looks bound. She and Ms. Griffin both have--tattoos, yes?"

Clarke shifts a little, frowning. Madi knows she doesn't like being called _Ms. Griffin_, but Dante insisted, since she's an adult. It's a weird vibe, and Madi's expecting her to not want to come back. "Yeah."

"It's a good idea, but I'll just write the glyphs for you for now. I'm not taking a field trip to a tattoo parlor."

Ethan frowns. "Why do they need to be bound?I thought she knew what she was doing."

"The magic that follows you around and tries to make trouble? It does that because it knows you have magic and it's trying to talk to it," Clarke explains. "Binding it makes you less obvious."

"Exactly," Mr. Wallace agrees. "Binding doesn't do anything to your gift except shield it. I know what I'm looking for, so I can see the edges of their gifts around the shield. I'll teach you how to do it too. But it's different from yours."

"So if the gift whatever is bound, what happens to what's following us?" Charlotte asks, with a small frown. "Does it harass someone else?"

"I'll teach you other ways to find it," says Mr. Wallace. "You'll be able to sense it, once you're in touch with your own gift, and fight it."

Clarke's jaw tenses, but she doesn't say anything. It could just be a vocabulary difference, the way Clarke and Madi are witches and Mr. Wallace is _gifted_. He does the same thing, but he thinks of it as fighting.

Or it could be really, really bad.

Ethan perks up, of course. She knows not _all_ boys are like that, but he seems like a pretty typical jock so far, the kind of guy who'll be more exciting about weaponizing magic.

"You're going to teach us to fight?"

"Eventually. Among other things. Like anything else, the gift is a skill, and it has many uses. One of them is to subdue the wild gift in the world."

"What happens once it's subdued?" Charlotte asks. "Where does it go?"

"You take it," says Mr. Wallace. "Once you're able to talk to the gift, you can persuade it to serve you. It can be difficult, of course--my own gift doesn't always immediately take to unknown power. But as I said, it's a skill."

"So you're, like, really powerful," says Ethan. "You've got a ton of magic."

Mr. Wallace shrugs, modest, but Madi doesn't believe it. Her neck is prickling, her whole body on alert. How much magic does this man have? How much has he taken and what does he do with it?

"I've been doing this for a long time. I'm sure Ms. Griffin has plenty as well."

Clarke's shrug is just as fluid as Mr. Wallace's, just as easy, sending the same careful message. "I haven't been doing it for as long as you have."

The rest of the lesson is basic stuff, things Madi already knows. Mr. Wallace teaches Ethan and Charlotte how to write the binding glyph, and as soon as the two of them have the glyphs, Madi feels a pressure she didn't even totally register easing, the weight of someone else's magic gone. They're just people again, with little hints of power licking out.

"So, will everyone be back next week?" Mr. Wallace asks. "Have I persuaded you?"

"I might not be, depending on my schedule," Clarke says. "But Madi will. I assume."

Madi has to smile. "Yeah, I'll be back."

*

Clarke offers both Charlotte and Ethan rides home, but only Charlotte takes her up on it. Madi doesn't mind, generally, especially since Charlotte has a lot of questions and seems more comfortable asking her and Clarke than she does asking Mr. Wallace, which is how Madi wants it. And the questions are, luckily, mostly things they can answer truthfully or fudge without outright lying.

But as soon as they've dropped her off, Madi moves from the backseat to the front and says, "How much magic do you think he has?"

Clarke is frowning. "No idea. Assuming he got his powers when he was a teenager and has been picking up wild magic the whole time? A lot."

"But what would you do with it?" she asks. "Like--what do you need it for?"

"Some people don't need a reason," she points out. "Jeff Bezos doesn't need all the money he has, he could get everything he wanted with way less. But if some people want something, they want the most of it."

"So you think he's the Jeff Bezos of magic?"

"Maybe. Or maybe more actually is useful. Some of the things we do could be dangerous if we wanted them to be. And if the magic stays--" She huffs, frustrated. "I wish I had better vocabulary for this. If the magic is his, but still separate, like--this is the magic he got off of the dog, this is the magic from--"

"The cursed furby," Madi supplies, and that does make her laugh, breaks the tension.

"If those are all independent and he can talk to them on their own, he could do a lot of things at once."

"Do you think it's really bad?" she finally asks. "Taking the magic for himself. Like--it feels bad, but do we really know it is? Why's it better for us to attach the magic to an animal or something than to keep it for ourselves?"

"I've been wondering that too. And I think--a lot of the magic we've found wouldn't be happy with us, you know? Like, some of it would, but it's not like any of the magic has ever _wanted_ to stay with us. And it doesn't sound like Dante really cares about communicating with the magic. He's subduing it and binding it to him. That doesn't sound good to me."

"Yeah."

"What did you think of the other kids?"

"Ethan's in my gym class, but he goes by Aiden there."

"Maybe he doesn't trust Dante either."

"No. But he sounds like he wants to subdue stuff too." She worries her lip. "I'm glad Charlotte likes us. I think she needs people on her side."

"Yeah. I think I'm going to stop coming."

"I thought maybe, yeah. Why?"

"Because I don't want to have to lie to him about my magic. You can tell him you haven't learned how to subdue stuff yet because you're too young, but he's going to figure out that I don't do that sooner or later if I don't know anything about it. Is that okay?" she adds. "You think you'll be all right alone? I won't be far, there's a coffee shop around the corner. I'll just hang out there until you're done."

"I think that should be okay. If next week is too weird without you, I'll let you know."

"Cool." She glances away from the road for a second to flash Madi a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Still weird," she admits.

Clarke sighs. "Yeah, me too."

*

On Monday, she finds Ethan at his locker and says, "I have a couple questions."

He frowns. "Are we allowed to talk to each other? Isn't this suspicious?"

"I have questions about gym class." His frown deepens, and Madi can only hope her embarrassment doesn't show on her face. He's probably never even noticed her; he doesn't even know they're in class together. "You have it block six, right?"

"Oh, yeah. You're in that class?"

"Yeah. _Aiden_."

He snaps his fingers. "I knew you looked familiar. I thought you were going to call me out but I couldn't figure out why."

"Nope. None of my business. If you want to give him a fake name, that's what I'll call you. Cool?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He pauses. "Is that actually a thing?"

"Is what?"

"Names. I read some story where you can't tell a magician your full name because it has power and they can curse you with it. Is that real?"

"Oh. I don't think so? I don't really know. It's not like I've ever tried to curse anyone. But my ma--gift doesn't know English or anything. I don't think it even knows my name."

"Yeah, guess not." He flashes her a smile. "I figured I shouldn't tell a weird old dude my real name anyway. I don't trust him."

"But you came to the class."

"I almost didn't. But I wanted to know."

Madi worries her lip, remembering what Clarke said about Mr. Wallace persuading parents. Did he persuade Ethan too? Did he go because he was curious or did he know better and Mr. Wallace made him come?

It feels like she has more and more questions, and she doesn't know how they'll get answers. Not when they don't and can't trust Mr. Wallace.

"So, Ethan is--"

"I had a friend named Ethan when I was a kid. It was the first thing I thought of."

"And Aiden is your real name?"

"Yeah. But I'm not telling you my middle name. That way you can't use it if that _is_ a thing." It's clearly a joke, so Madi laughs, and Aiden smiles. "Sorry for the confusion. I know it's weird."

"It's fine, I don't trust him either." In the interest of full disclosure and it not biting her in the ass later, she adds, "I did tell Clarke your real name, though. I tell her and Bellamy pretty much everything."

"It must be nice. Having someone like her."

He sounds wistful, and Madi looks down at her hands, smiles. "Yeah. It is."


End file.
